The second round of the Australian Open ends with No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev taking on American teenager Learner Tien on Thursday. The always flammable Holger Rune will compete against Matteo Berrettini.

(5) Daniil Medvedev vs. (Q) Learner Tien

Russian Daniil Medvedev was devilish in his Australian Open first-round match against world number 418 Kasidit Samrej. His performance was so bad that he smashed a network camera in anger. Medvedev eventually got through in five sets, but his second-round opponent is far more dangerous than Samrej – and if the Russian continues to play poorly, Learner Tien will take advantage.

Tien made headlines at the very end of the 2024 ATP season, finishing second behind Joao Fonseca at the NextGen ATP Finals. The American teenager has hard earned his place in the Australian peloton; He passed the qualification. With Tien having had plenty of match play in Melbourne and possessing natural talent, he poses a much bigger threat to Medvedev than his 121st ranking would suggest.

Medvedev has been a finalist three times, including last year when he lost a two-set lead to Jannik Sinner. Although he often gets his heart broken at Rod Laver Arena, I can’t go against him this early in the tournament.

Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 4th

Ricky selection: Medvedev in 4th

(13) Holger Rune versus Matteo Berrettini

Matteo Berrettini narrowly missed out on placement for this tournament. The 28-year-old is ranked 34th in the world and had a good, if not outstanding, 2024 season. He won three titles, but on clay and grass there were 250 each. Berrettini has a total of 10 titles on the “natural” surfaces and none on hard courts. This is partly because he is prone to injury and often has to pause when swinging on hard courts.

Holger Rune has not been a favorable partner for Berrettini in the past. The two men met five times; Rune has won all but his first game of 2022. The 21-year-old Dane has struggled with consistency in his young career, but he posted solid results last year and is now ranked 13th in the world. Rune unexpectedly won five sets in the first round against Zhizhen Zhang, so he may be more vulnerable than usual – but he has played Berrettini often enough to suggest there is a matchup problem for the Italian.

Cheryl Selection: Rune in 4

Ricky Pick: Rune in 5